Wasn't sure where to put this, Firstly i'd like to state that for the most part the religous people iv'e met throughout life have been very curtious and receptive to my critisims/questions, however i ran into one individual handing out panphlets that read "GOD HATES FAGS" and "GOD HATE AMERICA" which led me to Westboro Baptist Church the most sigularly offensive and repulsive religous group i have ever read about, here's a few of things they frequently enjoy doing.

Picketing funerals of gayspicketing hospitals that house people dying of aidspicketing military hospitals

i sense a trend here.. anywho i was hoping someone here could shed some more life on these scumbags( and yes they qualify wholeheartedly for that title).

Angry_Santa wrote:Wasn't sure where to put this, Firstly i'd like to state that for the most part the religous people iv'e met throughout life have been very curtious and receptive to my critisims/questions, however i ran into one individual handing out panphlets that read "GOD HATES FAGS" and "GOD HATE AMERICA" which led me to Westboro Baptist Church the most sigularly offensive and repulsive religous group i have ever read about, here's a few of things they frequently enjoy doing.

Picketing funerals of gayspicketing hospitals that house people dying of aidspicketing military hospitals

i sense a trend here.. anywho i was hoping someone here could shed some more life on these scumbags( and yes they qualify wholeheartedly for that title).

You met people from the WBC? Holy crap I dream of counter picketing them! Like this!

Angry_Santa wrote:... i ran into one individual handing out panphlets that read "GOD HATES FAGS" and "GOD HATE AMERICA" which led me to Westboro Baptist Church the most sigularly offensive and repulsive religous group i have ever read about ...

i've heard many interviews on the radio with one of the founders of this church group - they never fail to disgust me

the wonderful thing is that the person doing the interview was able to slide in so many back handed comments that completely went over her head ultimately displaying her absolute ignorance and narcissism.

Get your bake on.

TwistedSister wrote:You can't go wrong with a side of Bacon on your side.........

Angry_Santa wrote:i was hoping someone here could shed some more life on these scumbags

We have discussed Fred Phelps in the past on this forum, but I think quite a lot of those conversations must have been coppiced recently.

First thing is, they are very heavy on the lawyers, and they defend themselves to the full extent they can in court. There was a very good BBC programme made by Louis Theroux called The Most Hated Family In America, which followed their activities for a while. Many of the members of the church live in a walled compound, and they only go out to campaign in groups, but they still attract jeering and occasional acts of violence.

They were due to visit the UK this year, where there is no constitutional freedom of speech and we have specific laws about hate crimes against people who might not share the WBC's religious or sexual orientations. If Fred had opened his mouth in this country, I sincerely hope he would have gone to jail for the crap that comes out of it. Unfortunately, he was barred from entering the country.

Anyway, the Westboro Baptists are exactly the sort of thing that puts me right off religion (along with Sharia law, Scottish and Irish sectarianism, and the Catholic Church covering up all that child abuse, but I digress). Anyone who is that hung up on homosexuality being evil has... an issue, you know?

"I don't mean to sound bitter, cynical or cruel; but I am, so that's how it comes out." ~ Bill Hicks."To argue with a person who has renounced reason is like administering medicine to the dead." ~ Thomas Paine."One should not believe everything one reads on the internet." ~ Abraham Lincoln."If you're making a political point wearing a balaclava, you're a c***. It was true for the IRA and it's true now." ~ daftbeaker.

At least one of the Phelps children managed to escape the insanity. Here is Nate Phelps' homepage on Atheist Nexus: http://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/NathanPhelps. He's given speeches at Atheist conventions, and I've seen several interviews with him at various places online. His story is truly terrifying. Westboro Baptist turns out to be even more abusive than you would think.

Have to mention the Patriot Guard Riders if we're bringing up the WBC nutters. The PGR mission statement:

The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse amalgamation of riders from across the nation. We have one thing in common besides motorcycles. We have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for America’s freedom and security. If you share this respect, please join us. We don’t care what you ride, what your political views are, or whether you’re a "hawk" or a "dove". It is not a requirement that you be a veteran. It doesn't matter where you’re from or what your income is. You don’t even have to ride. The only prerequisite is Respect. Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives.

1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities. 2. Shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.

We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.

To those of you who are currently serving and fighting for the freedoms of others, at home and abroad, please know that we are backing you. We honor and support you with every mission we carry out, and we are praying for a safe return home for all.

"How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed'? Instead they say, 'No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.'" - Carl Sagan

"To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection." - Henri Poincaré

Pythonist wrote:Is it true that there are laws against Sodomy in about 18 states? That's awful.

Yes and no. Yes, there are sodomy laws in some states. However, in the Lawrence v. Texas supreme court case:

The majority decision found that "the intimate, adult consensual conduct at issue here was part of the liberty protected by the substantive component of the Fourteenth Amendment's due process protections." Holding that "the Texas statute furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual," the court struck down the anti-sodomy law as unconstitutional. Kennedy's opinion crucially grounded the right of consenting adults to have sex on how intimate and personal the conduct was to those involved, not on the conduct being traditionally protected by society (as in Bowers), procreative (as in Eisenstadt and Roe), or conducted by married people (as in Griswold). This opened the door in theory to protection of a whole host of sexual activity between consenting adults not protected by other decisions. Kennedy was careful however not to extend the opinion to include governmental recognition of such relationships.

Now this is where American law gets a bit weird. The decision doesn't automatically eliminate such laws. The laws would only get struck down if a law enforcement officer were to arrest someone and charge them under said laws. Then it could be appealed, and either a district court or court of appeals would strike down the law. This is why there's a host of silly laws out there (often collected in book form) still on the books; because no one enforces them, there's never a chance to get them taken off the books.

So TL;DR, the laws exists, the chances of anyone actually getting charged with them is slim to none.

"How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed'? Instead they say, 'No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.'" - Carl Sagan

"To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection." - Henri Poincaré

Angry_Santa wrote:Wasn't sure where to put this, Firstly i'd like to state that for the most part the religous people iv'e met throughout life have been very curtious and receptive to my critisims/questions, however i ran into one individual handing out panphlets that read "GOD HATES FAGS" and "GOD HATE AMERICA" which led me to Westboro Baptist Church the most sigularly offensive and repulsive religous group i have ever read about, here's a few of things they frequently enjoy doing.

Picketing funerals of gayspicketing hospitals that house people dying of aidspicketing military hospitals

i sense a trend here.. anywho i was hoping someone here could shed some more life on these scumbags( and yes they qualify wholeheartedly for that title).

You met people from the WBC? Holy crap I dream of counter picketing them! Like this!

PantyGnawer wrote:You met people from the WBC? Holy crap I dream of counter picketing them!

That was my dream too, and then in October they came to do a protest at Rutgers against Hillel, a Jewish student organization. They also protested us Rutgers students cause we're idol worshipers and "fluffy", whatever the hell that means. So I led my Pastafarian congregation in a counter-protest against them. They decided to leave early and were getting ready to go when we got there, but I got to shout 'assholes' at them a few times and I bet they saw our signs. Best day of my life.

PantyGnawer wrote:You met people from the WBC? Holy crap I dream of counter picketing them! Like this!

Maybe i need to get a bit more Zen, but i dream of punching them. They are all that is vile in the world. I know that violence solves nothing and almost always leads to more violence, but those people really upset me. They CELEBRATE the deaths of people like Matthew Shepard. They TRIVIALIZE the service rendered to their country by people like LibraLabRat. They mock the SACRIFICE of those who die in service to their country.

They are scum. They deserve NO time on television. They are an institution of nothing but hatred.

They should be banned from the U.S. just as they have been banned from the U.K., but they SHOULD be allowed their freedom of speech... from 30 miles off the coast where, with any luck, they will be killed by pirates.

(sorry for the grin, but by FSM, i HATE those people, regardless of the fact that i could probably deprogram them!)

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

Roy Hunter wrote:Then, when you've got to know them a bit and their defences are down, you go all Scott the Pirate on them...